Advisory Board

Industry/Government Members

Sheldon Broedel, Jr., Ph.D.

Program Faculty

B.S. Biology, State University, New York
M.S., Ph.D., Microbial and Molecular Genetics, UMBC

Dr. Broedel is a founder of Athena Environmental Sciences, Inc. and has served as CEO/CSO since the company’s inception in 1994. He also holds a position as an Adjunct Instructor for the Master’s in Biotechnology at UMBC and an Adjunct Professor with the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Georgetown University School of Medicine. Dr. Broedel serves on several boards including Chairman of the Science Advisory Board for the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences at UMBC, Board Member of the Science Advisory Board to Villa Julie College, Board Member of the Master’s in Biotechnology Program, UMBC and for Applied Cell Sciences, Inc. Dr. Broedel received his doctoral and master's degrees from the University of Maryland Baltimore County in Microbial and Molecular Genetics and his B.S. degree in Biology from the State University of New York at Geneseo. He has 20 years of industrial experience, which included positions with Martin Marietta Laboratories, Dorlin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (formerly ChekTec Corporation) and Athena Environmental Sciences, Inc. as well as 8 years of academic research experience. In 2005, Dr. Broedel received UMBC’s Outstanding Alumni of the Year Award. Dr. Broedel has published a diverse range of scientific publications, holds three issued patents, and has designed, reduced to practice and launched more than 160 products. He and his development teams have received eight SBIR grant awards for their work with infectious diseases, environmental products and diagnostic tests. His technical expertise and experience includes microbiology, genetics, molecular biology, immunochemistry, biochemistry and enzymology, drug discovery and high throughput screening, fermentation and process development, and GLP/GMP manufacturing of biologics.

Paul Behrens, Ph.D.

Dr. Behrens is a co-founder of Martek Biosciences Corporation, an algal biotechnology company that began in 1985. He currently serves as one of the directors and is involved in research focused on developing new products from microalgae. Prior to founding Martek, Dr. Behrens worked at Martin Marietta Laboratories where his work was on the use of algae as a component of NASA’s Closed Environmental Life Support System for long duration space flight. Dr. Behrens is a graduate of UMBC, having received both Masters and Doctoral degrees from the Department of Biological Sciences, and previously a B.A. from The Johns Hopkins University. He has been an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Biological Sciences since 1988. He is currently an Adjunct Professor and annually teaches a portion of the undergraduate Plant Biology course. In 2002, Dr. Behrens received UMBC’s Outstanding Alumnus of the Year Award. He also serves on the Dean’s Advisory Board for the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences at UMBC.

Marco Chacon, Ph.D.

Founder, CEO & President

www.paragonbioservices.commachacon@paragonbioservices.com
Dr. Chacon is the founder, president and CEO of Paragon Bioservices, Incorporated. With 30 years of research laboratory experience and 19 years of executive experience, Dr. Chacon has the depth of experience, energy and personal commitment to transform biotech startups to commercially-viable enterprises.

He is also the founder of Irazu Biodiscovery in 2000, based on his research and scientific insights regarding the mechanism of calorie-restriction protection. Dr. Chacon holds a Ph.D. in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Maryland.

David Fink, Ph.D.

Dr. David Fink’s career in biotechnology and biomedical product development spans over 30 years as a researcher, consultant, entrepreneur and officer of several start-up biotech companies. At the bwtech@UMBC Incubator and Accelerator, Dr. Fink coordinates incubator services and advises approximately 20 early-stage incubator companies. He is also the Program Manager for UMBC’s ACTiVATE® entrepreneurship program for women. He received his BSChE from the University of Cincinnati and his PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan. He has authored over 40 scientific papers and book chapters, and he been awarded 22 US patents.

Mark Ginski, Ph.D.

Lawrence C. Mahan, Ph.D.

Director, Innovation & Business Development
Children's National Medical Center

Dr. Mahan is an accomplished senior scientist with over 25 years experience in basic medical research including more than 10 years in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, an author of over 100 published articles and abstracts, and holder of four U.S. patents. His scientific expertise spans cellular and molecular biology, functional genomics, neuroscience, pharmacology, immunology and biochemistry. Dr. Mahan received his training in pharmacology and physiology at the University of California, San Diego, California and in molecular biology the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, MD. Dr. Mahan has additionally held positions as guest researcher at the National Research Council of Canada (Ottawa, ON), director and managing partner of an emergent biotechnology company in Vancouver, BC and a private business consultant on biopharmaceutical technology platform development and facilities design. Dr. Mahan joined Maryland’s Department of Business & Economic Development (DBED) in 2001. In his former role as Senior Strategy Advisor for Biosciences to the Secretary and the Office of the Governor, Dr. Mahan provided guidance to the administration on Maryland’s bioscience environment, as well as oversaw global business development and strategic partnering initiatives. In his current position as Acting Executive Director of the Maryland Biotechnology Center, a new Governor initiative, Dr. Mahan provides guidance to bioentrepreneurs and strategic advice on Maryland’s industry and assets in one of the largest clusters of bioscience companies and federal research laboratories in the United States. These activities include immediate and long-term corporate strategy development; alliance partnering; venture capital assistance; business incubation, expansion and retention, federal-academic-private sector collaborative initiatives; as well as policy and legislation guidance.

Cindy Oliver, Ph.D.

Nadine Ritter, Ph.D.

Dr. Ritter has nearly 30 years combined academic and industry experience as a protein chemist, specializing in the physiochemical and functional characterization, release and stability testing of biotechnology products. She is a prolific writer, speaker and trainer on analytical method development and validation, stability programs, product comparability studies, and reference standards for biopharmaceuticals. She is an active member of several committees, task forces, editorial boards, and scientific advisory panels for biotechnology professional organizations. Currently, she is a national and international consultant in the CMC technical, regulatory and quality elements required to successfully develop and commercialize biological and biotechnological products.

Timothy Wood, Ph.D.

Dr. Wood is a scientific analyst for the Department of Defense. His work experience includes performing research in molecular biology and biochemistry at the National Cancer Institute, UMBC, The Scripps Research Institute, and the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Previous research topics have included cancer, infectious diseases, developmental biology, x-ray crystallography, and biochemical mechanisms of chromophore formation.

UMBC Members

Philip Farabaugh, Ph.D.

Bill Lacourse, Ph.D.

Antonio Moreira, Ph.D.

Program Faculty

B.S., Chemical Engineering, University of Porto, Portugal
M.S. and Ph.D., Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, University of Pennsylvania

Dr. Antonio R. Moreira is Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Professor of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering at University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). Dr. Moreira has both previous (Schering-Plough Corporation) and ongoing biotechnology industry contacts and experience. He draws from first-hand work in R & D, scale-up and introduction to commercialization of biotechnology products, such as alpha interferon. Dr. Moreira has an active research program in bioprocess engineering and is a consultant to various biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.

He has received various awards including a NATO Senior Fellowship and the James Aggalloco Award from the Parenteral Drug Association. He served as the President for the Chesapeake Bay Area Chapter of the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering; he is immediate past-chair of the Council for Biotechnology Centers for the BIO Industry Organization, and serves on scientific advisory boards for various organizations. Dr. Moreira is Chairman of Peritus Consultants, Inc. an international consulting corporation. He is also a graduate of Leadership Maryland, class of 1998.

Dr. Moreira is the Graduate Program Director for the Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Biochemical Regulatory Engineering. He teaches BTEC 660: Regulatory Issues in Biotechnology and BTEC 662: Good Manufacturing Practices and Bioprocesses.